Game is secondary in aftermath of attacks

MILWAUKEE (AP) - As World War II raged, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered baseball games to go on to boost the country's morale.

Baseball has been a healing force during national tragedies, and it may be again as the United States deals with Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

For now, though, it's too soon.

"The greatest country in the history in the world is being attacked," commissioner Bud Selig said. "So all of this (baseball) doesn't mean very much."

Though the playoffs are less than three weeks away, Selig postponed the entire schedule of games for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday "in the interest of security and out of a sense of deep mourning." He didn't know when games would resume.

"I think many people would hope we'd start Friday," Selig said. "But I haven't made that judgment yet. I'm not close to making it."

Even before Wednesday's schedule was called off, the Chicago White Sox headed out of New York, going by bus to Cleveland.

"We're leaving," manager Jerry Manuel said.

There was no word if the games would be made up, but Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane said Wednesday morning he was confident games were being postponed, not canceled completely.

"There are so few games and pennant races are still very, very tight," said McLane, whose Astros lead the NL Central by five games. "Just one or two games could alter who ultimately wins the pennant."

Aside from work stoppages, it's the first time since World War I in 1918 that consecutive days of regular-season play were wiped out.

Baseball's quarterly meeting, scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon in Milwaukee, also was canceled. Owners had several pressing issues to discuss with the current labor agreement expiring Oct. 31, but none seemed very important in the aftermath of the attacks.

"We can't worry about our game, our business," Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo said. "What were we all doing here? The people who were here, waiting for a meeting to take place. How silly."

Selig and his Milwaukee staff joined them after their office, housed in the city's tallest building, was evacuated as a precaution.

Selig couldn't stop thinking of President Bush, a good friend and former owner of the Texas Rangers.

"We always kid each other about who has the most difficult job," Selig said.

"I've got to worry about games, he's got to worry about life and death. That's a big, big difference."

Though the next 2 weeks are critical to teams hoping to make the playoffs, the owners supported Selig's decision to cancel three days of games.

"Absolutely," McLane said Wednesday morning.

"The nation is mourning and is certainly trying to adjust to what's occurred, so we just felt it was best to cancel the games and evaluate later today or tomorrow morning where we are."

Selig said he will talk to people around the country before making a decision on when to resume play. There are security issues to consider, as well as the nation's emotional vulnerability.

Last week, Selig and his wife were in New York and visited the World Trade Center.

"I hadn't been there in awhile," Selig said. "Now to believe that they don't exist anymore. It's beyond human comprehension. There is nothing in any of our backgrounds to even begin to prepare you for this."